'The Prophet’ is 'message of peace,’ actress says

Salma Hayek hopes 'The Prophet’ inspires new generations

1of6A picture made available by the Salma Hayek Press Office shows the actress posing for a photo with the statue of Gibran Khalil Gibran outside his museum during a visit to promote her film "The Prophet" in Gibran's hometown of Besharre, north of the Lebanese capital Beirut, on April 26, 2015. AFP PHOTO / HO / SALMA HAYEK PRESS OFFICE
== RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: "AFP PHOTO / HO / SALMA HAYEK PRESS OFFICE" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ==HO/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: HO, Handout / AFP / Getty Images

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A handout picture released by UNICEF and taken on April 25, 2015, shows Mexican-US actress Salma Hayek (L) giving a hug to a young Syrian refugee at an informal camp in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley as she campaigns with UNICEF to raise funds for Syrian refugees. Hayek is also in Lebanon to promote her film "The Prophet". AFP PHOTO / UNICEF / SEBASTIAN RICH === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / UNICEF / SEBASTIAN RICH" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ===SEBASTIAN RICH/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: SEBASTIAN RICH, Handout / AFP / Getty Images

3of6Lebanese-Mexican actress Salma Hayek talks to the press ahead of a charity dinner after the global premiere of her animated adaptation of Kahlil Gibran's celebrated novel "The Prophet" in the Lebanese capital Beirut, on April 27, 2015. The actress and director described the movie version of the Lebanese author's spiritually-uplifting book as a "love letter to my heritage". AFP PHOTO / JOSEPH EIDJOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: JOSEPH EID, Staff / AFP / Getty Images

4of6Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek sits next to film director Roger Allers as she gives a press conference for the film "The Prophet," an animated feature film she co-produced, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, April 27, 2015. In her first visit to her ancestral homeland, Hayek, whose paternal grandfather was Lebanese and immigrated to Mexico, visited the picturesque mountain village of Bcharre in northern Lebanon on Sunday to pay homage to Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese-born poet who wrote "The Prophet," the book on which the film is based. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)Photo: Hussein Malla, STF / Associated Press

5of6Hayek gives a baby the polio vaccination during her visit to the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on April 25.Photo: Courtesy photo /UNICEF

6of6Actress Salma Hayek waves to photographers next to a poster for the film "The Prophet," an animated feature film she co-produced, on her arrival Monday to a cinema where she gave a news conference in Beirut. Hayek’s paternal grandfather was Lebanese and immigrated to Mexico.Photo: Hussein Malla /Associated Press

BEIRUT — Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek says the animated feature film “The Prophet,” which she co-produced, has been a labor of love and a project she hopes can inspire young viewers to think outside the box about ways to improve the world.

Hayek, who was in Lebanon for the international premiere of the film, also said the film comes with a “message of peace.”

“I think the whole world could use a little bit of message of peace, and more than a message of peace, to watch something that’s uplifting for the spirit and joyous, and that you can share with your family,” Hayek said at the premiere at a Beirut cinema complex.

Written and directed by Roger Allers (“The Lion King”), the film tells the story of Almitra, a young girl who finds her voice through her friendship with Mustafa, a poet imprisoned for his ideas.

Hayek provides the voice of the girl’s mother, Kamila.

The story is based on “The Prophet,” written in 1923 by iconic Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran. The book, a series of poems about love, joy, sorrow and work, has been translated into at least 40 languages and has never been out of print.

The film is divided into chapters illustrated by various animators, and Hayek said the illustrations capture the spirit of Gibran’s work. The score was written by Gabriel Yared, a French composer of Lebanese descent who won an Oscar for his work on “The English Patient.”

Hayek, whose paternal grandparents are Lebanese, described the film as “a love letter to my heritage” that will hopefully encourage new generations to think differently. “Through this book I got to know my grandfather,” she said. “Through this book I got to have my grandfather teaching me about life.”

The film opens in the United States in August.

The movie brings to audiences a message of compassion and humanity from an author who comes from a violence-torn region, the actress said. Gibran “is an Arabic writer who wrote philosophy and poetry and who brought all religions and the world together.”

“It’s hard for a kid to understand (“The Prophet”) “as it’s written, that’s why we made the movie,” Hayek said.